Mixed Emotions
by EmLovesYouu
Summary: FINAL CHAPTER UP! Alex suspects Izzie's feelings and becomes jealous of his colleague. Set in Season 3 but sort of changed around a bit. Gizzie/Lexzie. Please Read
1. Chapter 1

_If everyday were the same, nothing would ever be different,_

_We'd be stuck with whatever we're dealt with, until the day we die._

"Stevens, you're with Shepherd today. Karev, you're on Montgomery's pregnant case. O'Malley and Yang, Dr Torres and Grey, you're with Andrew MacBell; he's back again," Dr Bailey directed her interns, "now!"

Scattering across Seattle Grace, the interns hurried to find their newly assigned patients.

"Hello Dr Stevens," Dr Shepherd announced as Izzie walked in the room. Sitting, presumably, on her mother's lap was a red head girl who looked around the age of five or six. "I'd like you to meet Josaline Walker. What does her chart say?"

"Umm, Josaline Walker, presented with migraines. CT scans reveal what seems to be a stick of some sort, more likely a splinter, embedded in her skull," Izzie read off the charts, whilst Josaline played with Derek's stethoscope.

Nodding, Derek replied, "What are the risks of the splinter not being removed?"

"There is a chance it may be pressing upon her Cerebellum and could cause permanent brain damage. There's also a risk of haemorrhaging," Izzie informed, sifting through her knowledge of the dangers of cases involving foreign objects.

"Proceed with a central line and find out how it got in there."

"Okay, Josaline, I'm just going to put this little needle in your arm to stop your head from hurting," whilst distracting Josaline with questions about her favourite colours and toys, Izzie carefully inserted the drip in her arm and continued to monitor her.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Hey Andrew, how is it going today?" Meredith greeted her patient. Andrew had been in and out of hospital for the past few years due to Kidney failure. Meredith would be able to recognise the wispy grey hair and pale green eyes of that sixty year old anywhere.

"I'm very good, Dr Grey. How was your night off? I saw you getting a little bit friendly with that brain surgeon, Dr Shepherd I think. You aren't getting yourself into anything you shouldn't be, are you?"

Blushing slightly, Meredith recalled the day before, during which Derek had slipped in _hidden_ kisses, or so they thought, throughout the day. It made it very hard to concentrate on rounds and sutures when Dr McDreamy's lips kept popping up like they had.

"Can you keep a secret, Andrew?" Andrew nodded, leaning in to Meredith, "well, Dr Shepherd is actually my boyfriend, but don't tell anyone; the only person in this hospital that knows is everyone." Andrew chuckled quietly but winced from the movement. "Guess what, Andrew? We have found you a brand shiny new Kidney."

Andrew Macbell's reaction was one you could expect from any sixty year old man who's Kidney's began failing when he was only in his twenties. Although he didn't join the transplant list until he was fifty-five. Being blood type AB negative, getting a new Kidney from an anonymous donor is quite an achievement.

"Thankyou, Dr Grey, thankyou. Oh! And I promise I won't tell anyone about you and the boyfriend. You have my word," Andrew promised, smiling like a child at Christmas.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_But imagine if we were dealt with something,_

_That we couldn't just get rid of, _

_Imagine if we _were_ stuck with it until the day we die_.

So, Karev, you're stuck with me again, I see?" Addison Montgomery smiled when Alex entered the room.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Alex joked. "I hear we've got a pregnant case? Anything good? Quads? Conjoined twins?"

Shaking her head, Addison opened the door to the next room, revealing a heavily pregnant girl that could be no more than fifteen. "Karev, Emily Livedon. Emily, Dr Karev. Emily is fourteen and pregnant with twins. She's thirty-six weeks and we're keeping her under observation so, if needed, we can do an emergency Caesarean." Addison left the room and gave Emily's charts to the nurses. Alex followed.

"So, what's the deal? Why aren't her folks here?" Alex queried.

"They don't know. When Emily got pregnant at just thirteen, she asked if she could move to a boarding school, to improve her studies, and the parents complied. Don't ask me why, but it seems she'd prefer to do this entirely alone, than let anyone know. I want you to monitor her, Karev. Page me if there's any sign of foetal distress."

Alex watches Addison as she walks down the hall, but his attention travels to Izzie, who's leaning against the opposite side of the nurses station, staring dreamily into room 416.

"_Damn it, Izzie,"_ Alex thought, walking around to her, _"don't go falling for a patient again. We don't need a repeat of Denny."_

"Hey, Iz, what's so lovable in there that's got you goggling like tha– O'Malley?!" Alex burst out.

Blushing deeply, Izzie shook her head at the accusation and scampered off, staring at her feet.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_Not everything we're dealt with is a problem,_

_Sometimes it may even be a blessing in disguise,_

_But even if a problem, isn't a problem anymore,_

_You may still be stuck with it forever._

"Geez, what did she do to herself? Is she a stunt double or something?" George said wide eyed, after seeing Mackenzie Atherton's x-rays.

"No, O'Malley!" Callie Torres made it quite obvious that she hated her ex-husband for cheating on her with his best friend/room mate/ colleague. "Why would a seventeen year old girl with Calcium deficiency be a stunt double? Why? Did she want to fracture her pelvis in fourteen different places? No, she is not a stunt double!"

"How would you like us to proceed, Dr Torres?" Cristina said, breaking the awkward silence, keeping out of Callie and George's personal problems.

"O'Malley, book an OR, Yang, prep her for surgery; you'll be scrubbing in." And with that Callie left the room, leaving Cristina ecstatic and George dumb-founded.

"Wh-what? You get to scrub in and I don't?"

"Well," Cristina said wearily, "you _did_ cheat on her with Izzie...." Cristina stopped talking abruptly as Mackenzie screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mackenzie had her hands pressing on her pelvis; in obvious pain.

"She must've tried to sit up. Mackenzie, I need you to calm down! I know it hurts but I'm going to give you some morphine to stop it, okay? George, page Callie and book an Or, now!" Cristina ordered.

George ran out into the corridor, fumbled with his pager and sent it flying down the hall. Quickly picking it up and paging Callie, George checked the OR board and booked Mackenzie n OR at 1600; five minutes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

_But sometimes, whether it's a good luck or not,_

_Will mean that whatever you're unfortunately dealt with,_

_May result in the end of your life,_

_Or may result, in something worse, something you'll have to live with._

"She picked Cristina and not me! I know for a fact that we could both be of use in the OR, but because of one....silly....mistake...." George dazed off as Izzie walked out into the cafeteria with a Caesar salad, "....well, um, yeah. I _really_ hate Cristina right now!"

George stuffed his mouth with his egg and lettuce sandwich; only to spit it back onto his tray a second later. "Urggh! This is gross. I'm gonna go and find a case that I'll actually get to do something in." George pushed his tray away and walked off. Izzie flashed him a smile that was bedazzling, before blushing softly and changing the subject.

"So, guess what? My Neuro-patient with Shepherd, has a two-inch splinter in her head that they supposedly didn't know about," Izzie boasts. "How could you _not_ notice a two-inch splinter going into the back of your skull?"

"Did you ask 'em what they know?" Alex asked, his mouth full of hotdog.

"They probably _do_ know, but don't wanna admit how it happened. Like my guy, Andrew MacBell, he's in his sixties and he only got put on the donor list for a new Kidney five years ago," Meredith filled the others in on her case.

"So?" Alex demanded.

"So, his Kidneys have been failing for forty years and he only notified someone about it five years ago. Doesn't that sound dodgy to you?" Meredith sighed.

_**CRASH!!!**_

On the other side of the cafeteria, the new intern who just transferred from Mercy West, Stef Harlow, had tripped over and sent her tray splattering. Alex, Izzie and Meredith ran over to see how she was, seeing as the cafeteria was practically empty.

"Stef, are you okay?" Izzie said frantically, as she knelt quickly beside her, after Stef let out a blood curdling scream. "Stef, I need you to tell me what hurts."

And then she saw it, as Stef raised her left hand, which was coated in and quickly oozing blood. There was a knife that had gone through her hand. They now understood why she was screaming. As soon as Izzie tried to examine Stef's hand, Stef thrashed it about as she pulled herself away from Izzie's grasp.

The next scream was not from Stef; it was from Meredith.


	2. Chapter 2

Meredith was not screaming because she was hurt. She was not screaming for herself. She was not even screaming for Stef. She was screaming for Izzie, who's side had just been slashed by the knife that was projecting out the top of Stef's left hand. Izzie, the secondary victim of the matter, was not screaming aloud, but anyone who had ever associated themselves with Izzie Stevens would have been able to tell she was suffering in silence. She was in agony. She clutched at her side, blood dripping between her fingers.

"Oh god! Meredith take Stef. Come on, Iz," Alex took control. Not taking any chances with her, Alex lifted Izzie into his arms carefully and walked off quickly to get her injury fixed up.

Laying Izzie down on her good side on one of the beds at the Denny Douquette Memorial Clinic, Alex pressed gauze down on the wound.

Wincing, Izzie said, "someone else can do this, you go take care of your pregnant girl." Izzie replaced Alex's hand with her own and pushed him away. "I'll close myself up, I'll be fine."

"No! You are not fine and you won't be closing yourself up!" Alex snapped, his protective feelings for Izzie flaring up. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "you're going to need at least 15 stitches and you're not in a fit state to be suturing yourself, given the amount of pain you're in."

"What are you on about, Alex? I'm not in any pai- ouch!" Izzie put the case to rest after attempting to sit up, proving Alex's assessment true.

"Thankyou." Alex injected the anaesthetic near Izzie's wound, and sat in the chair beside the bed whilst waiting for it to set in. "Does this hurt?" Alex asked, poking the tip of a needle into her, now, pain-free side.

"No, it doesn't. Can you hurry up or else Bailey will see me here and take me off Josaline's case."

Izzie shivered when Alex's cold fingertips brushed softly against her pale skin, as he lifted up the side of her scrubs slowly, to reveal the wound; which wasn't bleeding nearly as much as it was.

Pulling himself unwillingly away from her eyes, Alex said, "this won't hurt but it will feel a bi-"

"Alex, I'm a doctor, not a patient. I know how sutures work!," Izzie cut Alex off.

Once the stitches were in and the wound was dressed, Izzie was allowed to go, given she didn't raise her right arm to high.

"Remember Alex, don't tell Bailey," Izzie said to Alex as she turned to face the exit; but instead she turned to face Miranda Bailey.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was hard enough for Meredith to just examine Stef's hand, let alone sew her up.

"No, it's fine, it doesn't even hurt," Stef protested.

"Stef," Meredith said reasonably, "you cannot keep a knife in your hand. It will get infected."

"I know that! I just, no offence, want someone else to suture me up, that's all."

Taken aback, Meredith let go of Stef's wrist and stood looking down at her, arms crossed over her chest. Offended, Meredith demanded, "and why might that be? Do you have something against me?"

"It's just, after everything you've been through, I think you may be just a _little_ unstable," Stef answered, an unsure smile on her face.

"What?!" Meredith retorted. "What have I gone through that makes me unstable? And how do _you_ know my business; you've only been here a week?"

Twiddling the fingers on her good hand and staring at her feet, Stef admitted, "well, you were dating Dr Shepherd and then his wife, Dr Montgomery, showed up. And then you had your hand on unexploded ammo for hours and had to pull it out of the guy's body. And then Ellis Grey, your mum, passed away. You must be pretty messed up after all that?"

"Wh- How do you know that?"

"Well, everyone at Mercy West was talking about Ellis Grey, and I've heard some stuff since I got here," Stef, biting her lip, admitted.

"Oh, I see. Did you also forget the fact that I almost drowned and it took doctors almost three hours to revive me? Or did you not pick up that piece of gossip?" Meredith was outraged at Stef's unruly accusation. "If you don't think I'm emotionally stable to simply remove a foreign object from a hand and suture up the wound, fine then. I'll leave, and you can just wait here, while your hand gets infected, for a doctor who wants to help someone who has no respect for others and falsely accuses them of not being fit enough to practise medicine. Fine, suit yourself."

Meredith left Stef in the pit and walked away, furious at the fact that her past was interfering in her work, once again.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Suction, Yang."

Mackenzie's pelvis reconstruction surgery was going okay, but the damage was quite serious. A fractured pelvis is difficult enough to fix when there's only _one_ fracture; Callie was not so much nervous, but worried, about this case.

Mackenzie's big sister, Annabel, had told Dr Torres that if there was a way to help with Mackenzie's Calcium deficiency, that Mackenzie wanted to become a ballerina. She'd practised Ballet until she was eight, but was then made to quit after various amounts of breaks and fractures; it was then discovered why this was so.

"Yang, I'm unable to fix all of the fractures back into he correct position. What do you suggest I do next?"

"I would close up and hop for the best," Cristina answered.

"Very well," Callie replied, "what is the worst we can expect?"

"Paralysis, Dr Torres."

In the Gallery, George puts his head in his hands, as he imagines how distraught Mackenzie will be if she wakes up after surgery, and can no longer move her legs. Although he knows that even if he had been in the OR, he could have done nothing more than had already been done, George still wished there was more he could have done to help. Sitting her and watching Cristina and Callie close up a teenager who's dreams may now be shattered, made him feel useless.

He couldn't watch anymore.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Sitting on a bed in the Pit, Stef felt guilty and hurt; but the hurt was not emotional. She could physically feel the pain of the knife through her hand. She was over the initial shock.

"Stef?" Alex was walking past the Pit but halts when he sees Stef, and no Meredith, with a knife in her hand. "Why are you still her? And still injured?"

Looking up at Alex, Stef said, "Meredith up and left."

"She what?!" Alex looked down at Stef sympathetically. "Why did she just leave?"

"Umm.... I think it was because I said she might be a bit unstable, you know, after everything; and I might have mentioned something about Dr Shepherd's wife showing up out of the blu-"

"Alex cut in, angry. "You what?! You called her unstable? To her face?" When she nodded, Alex's sympathy disappeared completely. "And you talked about Addison and McDreamy? What else?"

After admitting talking about Ellis Grey and the bomb, Alex had had it.

"You _never_ mention those sort of events to someone who experienced it first-hand," Alex told her.

"Umm.... not meaning to pry or anything, but was the girl who helped me in the cafeteria, the pretty blonde one. Was that Isobel Stevens? Because I heard, that the guy the Clinic's named after, Denny Douquette, I heard she cut his LVAT wire. Is that true?"

That was _so_ the last straw. "Do you _know_ what she's been through in her life? Obviously you don't. She didn't cut the wire for fun or for attention. She cut it for love...." love that Alex had always wanted to be for him, but love that he didn't deserve; not after blowing everything when he slept with Olivia, "....you know what? Fix you hand yourself."

And then, like Meredith had, Alex left Stef in the Pit and walked away.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

There are three types of pain one can experience.

**One.** The pain of losing a loved one; a best friend, a soul mate.

**Two.** The pain of an injury; one involving blood and wounds.

**Three.** The pain of being yelled at by your superior.

Izzie had experienced all three; the second and third, in just the last 15 minutes.

"Stef Harlow did what?!" Bailey interrogated Izzie after she caught her sneaking out of the Clinic after getting 16 stitches.

"It was an accident, Dr Bailey. I was just trying to help. I'm not a patient; Stef is-"

"No! You _were_ both interns and now you are _both_ patients," Bailey interrupted. "Stevens, you may as well go home for the rest of day, with those stitches you shouldn't work too hard; better not to work at all."

Izzie begged and begged to let her stay, swearing she wouldn't do any difficult procedures.

"Fine then! You can work in the pit!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Although Izzie was really pissed off at having to spend the day in the Pit, sutures were better than nothing. The Pit was kind of busy. Filled with the usual; cut limbs, cracked open heads. But one patient stood out from the rest, sitting cross-legged on a bed sobbing quietly, a knife sticking through her hand.

"_Why hasn't Meredith fixed her up yet?" _Izzie thought.

"Stef? What're you still doing here?"

Sniffing, she replied, Dr Grey took offence to something I said, so she left, and then Dor Karev came and got annoyed that I'd upset Dr Grey, so he left as well."

"_What?"_ Izzie pondered in her mind, _"why would Meredith and Alex leave Stef in the Pit while she had an injury like this?"_

Come on, don't take it to heart. They just haven't slept for a while. Let's get this knife out of you, hey?"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Alex, Cristina, Meredith and George were all standing around the nurses station, talking about how rude Stef had been.

_Beep! Beep!_

_Beep! Beep!_

_Beep! Beep!_

_Beep! Beep!_

All four of their pagers had gone off at the same time.

"911 for Izzie?" they said simultaneously.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thankyou for the reviews; keep 'em coming.**

**Sorry that it took me a while to update. I went away for the long weekend. Hope you enjoy ******

-------------------------------------------

"What is it?" Cristina asked, completely professional.

"Where's Izzie?" Meredith asked, concerned.

"Is Izzie gonna be okay?" George practically pleaded.

"What the hell happened?" Alex said, stunned when he saw the state of the pit.

Over in the corner where Stef was, and still is, looked like the wreckage from a car crash. The bed covers on which Stef was sitting were thrashed about. The equipment shelf had fallen over, the contents scattered, smashed or just plain broken. Under the shelf lay a screaming figure; a high-pitched screaming figure. The figure was a blonde wearing scrubs. The figure was Izzie and she was trapped under a steel shelf, in obvious pain.

"Oh my god, Iz!" Alex stammered, stepping forward before Bailey stood in front of him, preventing him from closing the distance between him and Izzie.

"Izzie!" George called, frightened, "why isn't anyone helping her? Can't you hear her screaming?"

"O'Malley! Karev! Pull yourselves together!" Bailey ordered. "Izzie was trying to help Stef; later, I would like to know, Karev, Grey, why you abandoned a patient; and when she reached up her stitches ripped and the shelf got knocked and fell on top of her."

"Grey, Yang, go help get Izzie out of there," Bailey continued.

Stepping toward Bailey, George stammered, "What? We aren't allowed to help?"

"No! Neither of you are in a fit state to help Izzie Stevens right now. You, O'Malley, look like any second you might burst into tears. And Karev, you look like you're about to punch a wall or something," Bailey pointed out. "Once she's out, you can be her moral support."

-------------------------------------------

"Where's Dr Stevens? She said that if I told her how I got the ouchie in my head that I'd get a lolly," Josaline asked Derek when he walked into her room, unaccompanied by his intern.

"Well, Josaline. Dr Stevens was helping someone who was hurt and then, by accident, Dr Stevens got a cut on her side. So some of the other doctors are just fixing her cut," Derek replied, checking her charts.

"Will she come back, Dr Shepherd? Because I was going to tell her how I got my ouchie," Josaline said.

"She _will_ come back, but not just yet. You can tell me what you were going to tell Dr Stevens."

Innocently Josaline asked, "will I still get a lolly?"

Smiling, Derek said, "of course, honey."

"Well," she began, crossing her legs, "it maybe was a year ago and me and auntie Aggie were playing on the swings. Ma was pushing me high and I looked back to wave to Ma and Aggie and I fell. Onto all the woody bits that they have at playgrounds. And then my head really hurt and my hands was all red after I touched my ouchie. Ma took me to Dr Lu...Lom...Lorm...?"

"Don't worry about the doctor's name. Keep going," Derek encouraged.

"The doctor think he got all the woody bit out of my ouchie, but after, it always still hurt. So then Ma came here because she said you was a head doctor. The _best_ head doctor ever!"

Reaching into his pocket, Derek pulled out a lollypop in the shape of a butterfly. "Here you go. Thankyou for telling me, Josaline. Dr Stevens will be very proud of you. Where's you Mum?"

"Umm....I think she was hungry," Josaline pondered.

"Okay then. Will you be okay here until she gets back?" Derek asked.

After she had nodded and laid back down, rubbing her eyes, Derek left; proud of Josaline.

-------------------------------------------

"Bailey, I am fine," Izzie tried to reassure her, "you do _not_ have any need whatsoever to call my mother. If you do, you may as well put me back on the ground and let me bleed to death."

"Izzie, you're stitches have been broken and the wound is reopened; and possibly infected. You're going into surgery. Are you sure you don't want someone there, _family_ there, when you wake up?"

Who would she want? The only _actual_ family that she was blood-related to was her mother, who she did not want a visit from. Her daughter, Hannah, can't be considered; Izzie may have been the woman who gave birth to her, but she was not her mother. Her family is already here. Meredith, who kindly gave Izzie a room in her house in which she can live and a bathroom in which she can grieve. Cristina, who is really kind of a bitch to her but still, she is part of the gang. Alex, who pig-headedly cheated on her and broke her heart, but still loves her dearly enough to look out for her as much as she looks out for him. And George, her best friend, who grieves with her and laughs with her and holds her hand when she's donating bone marrow to a girl, _her_ girl, whom she's only met once, and he loves her; or at least, she truly wanted him to. Who would she want?

"Anyone who wants to. That who I want to be there," Izzie said smiling, satisfied knowing she would wake up to those who love her as much as she loves them.

As her bed was wheeled down the corridor to the OR, Izzie passed George and Alex in the hall. Smiling, she blew a kiss in their direction; not intended for either in particular. Both at the same time, as if it was in planned synchronisation, George and Alex kissed their fingertips and blew her a kiss; Alex smirking lovingly and George scared out of his wits but trying to keep a happy face.

"_It didn't mean anything major,"_ Izzie told herself as she was wheeled into surgery. _"Just a kiss from her people, a kiss from her family."_

-------------------------------------------

"_How long has Izzie been in surgery?"_ George wondered as he checked a still unconscious Mackenzie's labs. _"She should be out soon."_

"Mmm."

George looked up to see Mackenzie's eye fluttering and fingers twitching.

"Hey Mackenzie, you with me? Can you squeeze my hand?" George continued with routine post-op vitals checks. "Okay, I need you to try and move your toes for me," he continued, moving the sheets so her feet were uncovered.

After waiting a few moments of staring at Mackenzie's motionless toes, George said, "just a little wiggle; that's all I need."

"I-I am wiggling them. Ar-aren't I?" Mackenzie uttered, confused.

Squeezing the end of her feet, George asked, "can you feel the pressure on your feet from my hands?" When she shook her head, lip trembling, George said, "well, um, sometimes after a big surgery like you had, there can be temporary paralysis until certain swelling goes down or until wounds heal. You just wait here and I'll go and get Dr Torres and tell her you're awake."

Once in the corridor, George leant against the wall and sank to his knees, his head in his hands.

"_This can't be happening,"_ he thought.

"Just then, Callie came around the corner but halted at the sight of George's crumpled state. "O'Malley! Why aren't you in with Mackenzie? She's just woken up after surgery and her doctor should be examining her." Hands on hips, she stood there, tapping her foot.

"I already did the post-op examinations," George said.

"And?" Callie demanded.

"She has no feeling in her legs," George muttered.

"You're gonna have to speak up, O'Malley! This is one of the busiest corridors in the hospital!" Callie was becoming short-tempered.

"She has no feeling in her legs! She can't move them at all!" George snapped, getting to his feet.

He had begun to walk away when Callie said sympathetically, "George. I'm sorry; but you knew there was a chance this could happen."

"It still doesn't stop the blow of it! So, Callie, which one of us is gonna break this girl's dream? Well, I'll tell you now, that it's _not_ going to be me!" And with that George stormed off down the hall and around the corner.

Breathing deeply, Callie whispered, "you can do this, Torres," and walked into Mackenzie's room.

-------------------------------------------

"Karev! Why aren't you moni-" Addison demanded before realising Alex was sitting by Izzie Stevens' bed, holding her limp hand in both of his; waiting for her to wake up. "Sorry, I didn't realise Stevens was hurt. What happened?"

Running his hand through his hair, Alex replied, "the supply shelf in the pit fell on her and reopened a knife wound from earlier today. They had to operate to cauterise any internal bleeding. Do you need me? Because, if you don't, I'd really like to be here when she wakes up."

Shaking her head, Addison said, "No, I'll get a nurse to keep an eye on Emily; she's started to have contractions but they're only forty-five minutes apart. She'll be a while."

Meredith appeared in the doorway moments after Addison had left.

"Hey, Alex. I'm just taking Andrew," gesturing to an old guy in a wheelchair, "for some scans. Page me when Iz wakes up. Hey! Where's George? I thought he'd be here waiting."

"He had to check on the chick with the fractured pelvis."

"Hmm....okay. See you, Alex," Meredith said brightly as she wheeled Andrew down the hall.

"C'mon, Iz," Alex mumbled. The hand between his twitched slightly. Releasing his pressure slightly, Alex sat up straight and stroked her hair.

In the few minutes in which she regained consciousness, Izzie had squeezed his hand tighter and pulled it closer to her, much to Alex's delight.

"Izzie!" George exclaimed happily when he returned to her room to find her moving.

"George...." she mumbled, still drowsy.

George sat down on her other side and went to take her hand in his; only for Izzie to flinch her hand away and wrap it around her torso.

Confused and angry, George got to his feet and stormed out of the room; but not before mumbling _bullshit_.

"_What the hell's got on 007's nerves now?"_ Alex thought curiously.

"I'll be right back, Iz," Alex whispered in Izzie's ear before kissing her on the forehead; leaving his lips tingling; and followed after George.

-------------------------------------------

**I hope you guys liked it.**

**Next chapter, you'll find out what's up with Izzie and George 3**

**Please review and make my day ******


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I sure love getting reviews; thankyou. **

**The parts in **_**italics **_**are the past.**

**Hope you like this one......**

* * *

It could have been a piece of art. You could take a picture of it and hang it up in the Louvre and it wouldn't have looked out of place. From beige to red and from blue to purple; the textures and colours were blended perfectly and matched so very well. It could have been a mosaic. Every tiny space, a tile. Every tiny tile, a beautifully different colour. But this mosaic was not a mosaic at all. This mosaic was Alex; well, Alex's nose actually.

"What the hell, Alex?! Who broke your nose?" Meredith gasped when she walked into the locker room; Alex laying on a bench with an ice-pack resting over his bruised and swollen nose.

"Before I tell you, you have to make an oath that you will _not_ laugh or tell another soul in this hospital," Alex demanded, sitting up to make room for Meredith.

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Meredith swore.

"O'Malley," Alex admitted, embarrassed.

Meredith had to use a lot of self control not to burst into a fit of laughter. George? _George_ broke your nose?" It was nearly unbelievable, but then again, George had once given Alex a black eye.

Lying back down, Alex said, "shut up."

"Umm.... why did he punch you in the first place?" Meredith queried.

"Izzie."

"What the hell did you do to her this time?" Meredith asked.

"Me? I didn't do a thing, I swear," Alex promised.

"What? Okay, tell me what happened."

_**ONE HOUR EARLIER.**_

_He could feel Alex's eyes following him as he stormed out of the room. Even when Alex began to follow him through the corridor calling his name, he refused to turn around. He was too angry, too annoyed; he didn't want to do something he'd regret later. This couldn't be happening. How the hell could Iz like an ass like Alex more than him. He'd broken, no, _shattered_ her heart, sleeping with the girl who was _his_ girlfriend._

"_Hey, O'Malley! What's your problem?" Alex shouted across the hall as he hurried to catch up with George._

_Alex followed George into the locker room._

"_O'Malley! What's with the bad temper?" Alex asked._

"_What's with- what's with the bad temper?" George repeated, laughing sarcastically to himself._

"_Umm.... yeah," Alex replied wearily._

"_Okay," George began. "What is it that you've got that I don't? I don't know. Maybe it's because you're an ass. Maybe I should try being an ass sometime. Would that work? No, it wouldn't, because I'm not an ass. Maybe I should cheat on her and then she'll come crawling back to get her heart broken just a little more. Maybe I should treat everyone else like crap and see if that makes me more appealing. What is it, Alex? 'Cause I'd really like to know!" George raised his voice._

_Alex had only once seen George this angry, and that was moments before George had knocked him out with a single punch. _

_Alex stepped back a little. _

"_What the hell are you talking about, O'Malley?"_

"_Izzie! Who else would I be talking about?" George yelled._

"_Okay, O'Malley, I really have no idea what's got you so angry, but there's nothing between me and Iz, well, at the moment anyway," Alex said, highly confused._

"_Oh, really? _Nothing_ going on at all? Then why on earth was she holding onto your hand as if it was the only thing keeping her alive, and then as soon as my hand touches hers, she flinches it away and turns to face you? Why don't you explain me that?" George was getting closer and closer to Alex and Alex was _really_ praying that there wasn't going to be a repeat of last time._

"_Dude! Did you notice that the hand you touched was wrapped in a bandage? Didn't you notice that it had been crushed under the shelf and was probably excruciatingly painful to have someone touch it?! Seriously, O'Malley! How dumb could you ge-"_

_That was what pushed George over the edge. With a nice swing of his arm, George's fist flew straight into Alex's nose; cracking loudly. Alex doubled over in pain, covering his nose, and George stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him._

* * *

"Emily?" Alex walked into Emily Livedon's room to find everything but Emily herself. He was sure that the large ice-pack he was holding against his tender nose was not altering his vision in any aspects.

"Hold on!" a voice called out from no-where.

Either Alex's damage to his nose had affected his hearing and was now making him hear things or his very large, _heavily_ pregnant patient had managed to hide herself in this very narrow white room.

Walking around to the end of the bed, Alex noticed a small pair of Elmo underwear poking out from a hospital gown on the other side of the bed. Emily was on her knees with her head looking closely at who knows what.

"Emily! Are you okay?" Alex gasped at the sight of his patient on the floor, "what are you doing out of bed and on the floor?" Alex put his hands under her arms and lifted her to a kneeling position.

Emily had recently been crying, as there were tear tracks down her cheeks. In her hands she held a broken silver chain and an engraved silver heart-shaped locket. "I'm fine. It's just, my necklace bro-broke!" Emily burst into tears, leaning against Alex's chest.

Helping her to her feet and back into her bed, Alex sat down at the foot of the bed and took the chain and locket from Emily's trembling hands.

"Wh-what happened to your nose? Did you get into a fight?" Emily asked, wiping her tears away with her gown.

Alex nodded in an unfortunate manner.

"Why? What was it about?" she asked concerned.

"A girl."

Emily gasped and her facial expression turned to one of awe. "You got your nose smashed in all for a girl? That is so sweet!" Emily said as if it was the most romantic thing a guy could do.

"Hey! It wasn't my choice to get my nose broken." Alex made sure she knew he hadn't just stood there and let George punch him.

"But.... you didn't punch him back or anything?" Emily asked, enthralled in this _thrilling_ tale.

Alex shook his head. He had to ponder for a moment. Why hadn't he punched O'Malley back? If he'd wanted to, he could have. George probably would've ended up looking worse than him. But still, he hadn't punched him back. Why?

"She would've been angry," Alex simply said, "see, the guy who I got in the fight with, is her best friend. She would've lectured me and hated me even more if I'd punched him back."

Emily looked like she was over the initial shock of Alex's devotedness to Izzie, when she randomly burst into tears; again.

"Emily, what's the matter?" Alex asked, stunned by her sudden outburst.

Crying heavily, she replied, "you didn't punch him back because it'd upset her. Do you know how she would feel if she knew that? If I had been her, I probably would've burst into tears-" she realised what she'd said and quickly changed the subject before she could be criticised. "I wish my boyfriend was that loyal; well, _ex_-boyfriend."

"What happened to him? The father, I mean."

Emily rolled her eyes, "he was an ass. The moment I told him he left. I've only seen him once after that and that was when I was pretty huge. He called me a whale and said he was glad he wasn't part of my life anymore. Do you love her? The girl you fought over."

"Yeah, I do. But I haven't got a chance. I screwed up big time," Alex sighed, wishing so very deeply that he could take back everything he regrets.

"Have you actually _told_ her you love her?" Emily asked.

"No, I haven't. You know what, Emily? I'm gonna go and tell her now!" Alex said, a broad smile on his face, and jumping to his feet and running out the door.

Addison walked into the room moment's after Alex left to find Emily sitting cross-legged on her bed in tears. "He's gone to tell her he loves her! Isn't that sweet?!" And she continued to cry.

* * *

Alex took a deep breath before opening the door to Izzie's room.

He would tell her.

Alex opened the door.

Or maybe he wouldn't.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it!**

**I'll update soon so keep an eye out.**

**Please Read&Review and make my day!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the long wait I was just in a bit of a Writer's Block- cliff hanger was hard to continue on from.**

**Also, I'm sorry that it's so short; I was a bit slack and I wanted to post something, but I'll try 'n make it longer next time.**

**I really hope you enjoy this next part and keep tuning in : )**

**Please Read**&**Review**&**Enjoy!!!!**

* * *

Meredith walked through the halls as if everyone else was a ghost; invisible. She didn't notice any of their faces or the frantic hurry most of them were in. She blocked out the noise of all the pagers and patients' cries. She didn't even notice when Derek tapped her on the arm, wearing his most gorgeous smile, when she walked right past him in the corridor. She wasn't brought back to the reality and hustle-bustle of the hospital until Derek stood in front of her, grabbed her by the shoulders and physically stopped her from walking any further.

"Mer? Are you feeling okay?" Derek asked, terrified for his girlfriend's sanity. "You're walking up the hall like you're about to grant someone a death wish. Mer, talk to me!" He shook her lightly, but stopped when a single tear rolled down her pale cheek.

"That's pretty much what I'm doing – except it wasn't anyone's wish," Meredith mumbled, dazed and foggy.

Derek looked at her wearily, _severely_ worried about her mental state. "Mer, what are you on about? I'm worried; just talk to me, Mer."

Looking sad and longingly into Derek's eyes, Meredith wiped the tear from her cheek and said bluntly, "I just have something I have to do. Sorry." With that, she removed Derek's hands from her shoulders and placed them by his side and continued to walk.

"Meredith!" Derek called until she turned the corner into the lobby.

At the nurses desk, Meredith asked Nurse Tyler for the phone and scanned down the piece of paper in her hand for the number of whom she needed to call.

Once finding it, Meredith took long deep breaths as she listened to the phone ring.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello Marion. I'm Dr Grey from Seattle Grace Hospital, I'm your brother's doctor. I think it would be best if you came down here," Meredith said, steadying her voice from the cracking that she felt building up in her throat.

"_The hospital? What on earth did Campbell do now? I told him the coaching was a bad ide-"_

"Marion, I'm so sorry. It's not Campbell; it's Andrew."

"_Andrew? He rang me the other day, you know! He says you've found him new kidneys!"_

The joy in Marion's voice was overwhelming and Meredith could tell that the bubble in her throat was almost beyond breaking point.

"Yes, we did find him new kidney's; but, they didn't make it here in time. I'm so, so sorry," Meredith said, only just before that bubble burst and her voice became no more than a whisper.

* * *

**Once again.... sorry for the shortness.**

**Please **_review_** and I promise to love you always =]**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry 'bout the wait- been a bit busy.**

**Please **Read**&**Review**&**Enjoy**!**

* * *

After working up all the courage to finally tell Izzie those three precious words, he wouldn't get the chance.

Her recently occupied room was now empty. Not the empty when a patient is discharged and the nurses reline the chairs up against the wall and replace all the sheets; _that_ is when it becomes vacant. But it was different with Izzie's room. The chairs, where him and O'Malley had sat holding her hands while waiting for her eyes to at last flutter awake, were still placed either side of the bed; on which the sheets were crumpled and pushed to the end and still marked the orange stain left from when she had spilt her juice earlier today.

It was like no-one had noticed she was gone. Like she had vanished in only the split second before Alex had walked into the room.

"Iz?" Alex asked wearily, expecting nothing more than the silent reply he received.

_This isn't right_, Alex thought, frustrated, as he ran out of the room and down the corridor in search of the woman whom he dearly needed to hold in his arms right now; just to know that she is safe.

* * *

"Dr Shepherd? Why was Dr Stevens in a hospital dress like me?" Josaline asked Derek innocently whilst he prepped her for brain surgery.

"She hurt herself when she wa – when did you see Dr Stevens?" Derek asked, remembering Alex running like a crazy man around the hospital asking anyone he could if they'd seen Izzie.

"Before, when she came in here to wish me good lucks. She was wearing a dress just like mine," Josaline recalled. She had thought it the funniest thing that her doctor was wearing the same dress as her even though she was _years_ older than her.

"Just give me one second, Josaline."

Derek left the room and paged Alex to the nurses desk. He only had to wait a minute before Alex ran around the corner and halted, panting heavily, a metre away from him.

"Yes, Dr Shepherd? Please, if it's not anything _urgent_ can you please page someone else. I need to find Izzie," Alex pleaded, catching his breath.

Derek smiled. "I paged you about Dr Stevens. My patient, _Dr Stevens'_ patient, said that Izzie came in to wish her good luck. That could have only been not fifteen minutes ago."

Alex sighed with relief and thanked Derek before running down the next corridor.

Derek returned to Room 426 and him and two of the scrub nurses wheeled Josaline's bed down to the OR.

"Josaline, I'm going to put this mask over your nose and mouth and I need you to breath in. It will make you sleepy, but you're allowed to go to sleep. Can you do that for me, sweetie?" Derek asked in his soothing professional voice.

She nodded.

Once Josaline was out, Derek looked around at his surgical team, smiled and said, "it's a great night to save lives; let's have some fun."

* * *

The pain in her side was growing stronger and was making her feel weaker by the second.

_Arggh, why did I get out of bed?_ Izzie thought as she steadied herself against the wall. _It was _such_ a stupid idea._

In the distance she swore she could hear her name being called, but it was probably just her imagination. She was feeling so weak she was probably hallucinating.

"Izzie!" the voice, louder this time, called again.

Now she knew she wasn't imagining that voice. _That_ voice was Alex's.

"Alex!" Izzie squeaked, as he came into view at the other end of the hall. She reached her arms out shakily, grabbing for him as he ran faster towards her. She had only taken a few steps until she fell into Alex's waiting arms.

Clinging onto her like there was no tomorrow, Alex heaved with a sigh of relief.

"_Don't_ do that to me again! Patients aren't allowed the run of the hospital; you scared the hell out of me, Iz!" Alex would've normally been angry with her but he was just so happy to have her in his arms again that it didn't matter. "I love you, Iz."

Izzie smiled so widely that every one of her perfect teeth were showing, "I've been waiting so long to hear you say that. I love you, too."

Alex kissed her, soft but meaningful, and then held onto her tighter. "Let's get you back to bed."

"Wait, I need to see George first."

Alex's face hardened a little. "Why?"

"There's something I need to tell him."

"What?" Alex was confused. Hadn't she just confessed _her_ love to _him_?

"I need to tell him, that I choose you," she admitted beaming her beautiful smile that made Alex's heart falter.

* * *

**YAY!! There you go guys – It was Lexzie after all.**

**I **_**LOVED**_** writing this. Hope you enjoyed.**

**PLEASSE REVIEW!!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know it's been while – sorry.**

**Enjoy and **_**pretty please leave a review**_** xxx**

* * *

"Mackenzie," Dr Torres began, taking deep breaths, preparing for what she was about to say and what dreams she was about to break.

"Yes, Dr Torres?" Mackenzie asked, anxiety creeping up behind her 'cover' smile.

Callie took another deep breath and looked over at Cristina with pleading and sorrowful eyes, "Dr Yang?"

Cristina nodded once and took a small step forward as Callie took a small step back.

"I'm afraid that as a result of your fall, some of the fractures in your pelvis were too damaged to be repaired into a condition considered 'normal'," Dr Yang recalled.

"But...." Mackenzie stammered, "I – I'll get feeling back in my legs. Wo – won't I?"

"I'm so very sorry, Mackenzie, but at this stage it seems very unlikely that you will recover the use of your legs again," Dr Yang said with as much sympathy she was capable of.

"Wh – what?!" Mackenzie screamed as she began to cry; and then hyperventilate.

Sitting just outside the door, George winced as he reciprocated the pain and disappointment that Mackenzie must be feeling. He could hear Callie, Cristina, Annabel Atherton and Mrs Atherton trying to calm her down to a state that was less stressful to her recovering body.

"We're awfully sorry, Mackenzie."

"C'mon, baby girl, shh."

"There was nothing that could be done."

"Mac, it's okay. Calm down."

No matter what any of them said, it wouldn't change the fact that he was her doctor and now she would never walk again. It wouldn't change the fact that there really _wasn't_ anything they could have done.

Standing up, George walked down the hall, into the elevator and out of the hospital.

* * *

"Karev! Emily's gone into early on-set labour; there's a lot of foetal distress. We're taking her into OR 3 for an emergency C-Section. Scrub in, now!" Addison called to Alex as her and a few nurses raced Emily to the OR.

"Okay, Iz. We'll find O'Malley later; you needa get back to your room. I needa scrub in," Alex said, hurrying Izzie back to her room, taking most of her weight, and giving her a quick kiss goodbye.

* * *

Derek stood happily by Josaline Walker's bedside, watching Mrs Walker brush the hair out of her daughter's eyes.

"Mrs Walker? I am very glad to tell you that we were able to remove _all_ of the splinter in Josaline's head _without_ any extensive damage. She may be a little head-achey for a week or so, but she should make a full recovery.

Tears filled Mrs Walker's eyes as she ran up and hugged him. "Thankyou, Dr Shepherd. You are a wonderful man."

"The pleasure was all mine," Derek said honestly.

* * *

"Scalpel," Dr Montgomery asked and then cut into Emily's uterus.

"Baby one out.........baby two out," Dr Karev said proudly, knowing he had just helped bring two knew people into this world.

Later that afternoon, once Emily was awake and the baby girls had been checked over, Alex came in to check in on the new mum.

"Enjoying motherhood?" Alex asked casually as he checked her charts.

"_Loving_ it! Aren't they beautiful?" Emily said staring gooey-eyed at the two newborns asleep in the cots beside her bed.

"Have you got any names?"

"Yes. Allyson and Mallory."

* * *

Fumbling with her pager, Izzie managed to page George to come to her room; if she couldn't go to him, he would come to her.

In the few minutes after the page had been sent, Izzie's mind was spinning. What would she say to him? Her best friend. She couldn't break him. It would break her too. It needed to be done, but she wished in the deepest part of her heart that she didn't have to. That she didn't have to choose. But she had chosen a long time ago. It was Alex. It had always been Alex. George was her best friend; not her lover or her soul mate; her best friend. It would stay that way.

"Is everything okay, Iz?" George panted as he ran into the room. "You paged?"

A single tear rolled down her flushed cheek and George sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hands in his.

"Iz?"

"I'm sorry, George."

"Sorry for what?" George almost pleaded.

"Sorry – sorry for – for choosing Alex." She said it. "You are the better man. You're decent and nice and loving. But you're also my best friend. Nothing more – and I don't wanna lose that. I'm sorry, George."

She leant her head on his shoulder and sobbed silently while he soothed her.

"Shh, it's fine. As long as you're still willing to be my best friend?" George said; trying to lighten the mood.

"Always."

* * *

**The next chapter will probably be the last for this story :(**

**Hope you liked this chapter and **_**pretty please click the green button and review**_** xxxxx**


	8. EPILOGUE

**Okay everyone this is the last chapter of this story – thanks to everyone who read each chapter. Enjoy :) **

* * *

**EPILOGUE: Coming Home**

* * *

Lying on his bed, both hands underneath his head, Derek looked up at the stars and listened to the heavy 'ting' of the storm's rain, ricocheting off the tin roof of his camper van. He'd always loved the rain – that was until a rainy night had been the scene of his heart breaking. It had definitely been a rainy night when he'd walked in on Addison, his wife and only love other than medicine, and Mark, his best friend, together in _his_ very own bedroom. Never would he forget what it felt like to have your two closest people in the world shatter your heart into tiny little splinters. He didn't really like the rain – not any more.

His thoughts were interrupted but the sound of a car's tires against the slushy mud and grass of his property.

_Who would be visiting at this hour?_ Derek thought as he checked his watch and saw that it was 1:15 in the morning.

Soft choking sobs broke the quiet, even patter of the falling rain.

Door swinging open, Meredith stood in his doorway. Still wearing her work scrubs, she was soaking, but he could decipher the difference between rain and a steady flow of tears.

"Mer?! What's wrong? What's the matter?" Derek asked running up to her and wrapping her in his arms, not giving a damn about the fact that her clothes were so wet she could've just gone for a swim.

"A – Andrew Mac – Mac – MacBell – he _died_!" Meredith sobbed, clinging tightly onto the back of Derek's jacket. "He's actually _dead_!"

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here," Derek soothed, rubbing soft circles on her back. "It's okay. We're okay."

* * *

Standing in the large entrance of Seattle Grace Hospital, George searched through his jacket pockets for any loose change; he had none. He needed to make a call, but his mobile had died that morning and he'd misplaced his charger.

George sat down on one of the uncomfortable blue chairs in the lobby and sighed.

_Why is it that the one time I _need_ my phone, it dies?_ George thought, frustrated at the annoying circumstances.

"Go home, Bambi." Cristina said bluntly as she walked out of the automatic glass doors.

_I wish I could_, George thought.

Resting his head in his hands, George looked down at the floor; and smiled. Staring him right in the face was a Quarter piece. Just enough for one call.

Jogging over to the pay phone, George quickly dialled the number he still knew off-by-heart.

"Hello?" she answered in a sleep-clouded tone.

"Callie! It's George! _Please_ don't hang up on me!" George begged, biting his bottom lip.

"What is it, George? It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm on call at 5 – I wanna get some sleep!" Callie sounded annoyed but didn't hang up nonetheless.

"Look – I know I was a jerk! What happened with Izzie was a mistake, and I feel _terrible_ about it! I was _never_ the kind of guy who'd cheat on his wife. And I never will _ever_ again!" George exhaled.

"What's your point, George?"

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Callie! And I understand if you can never forgive me – _I_ wouldn't forgive me – but...I...just..."

"Spit it out, George!"

"I want to come home, Callie. Come home to you," George admitted, waiting anxiously for her response.

"Feeling touched, Callie replied, "of course. I've missed you."

* * *

Opening the door to a silent, empty apartment, Cristina smiled, loving the feeling.

Yes, it'd been nice having Bourke here, but he was gone now. She no longer had to come home after a tough day and be asked how her day was; and then have to lie to cover up just how tough it _had_ been.

A peaceful, quiet home was nice. It was Cristina. It was who she was and who she always wanted to be.

She was alone, the way she liked it.

* * *

"You are officially discharged, Isobel Stevens!" Alex beamed, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her slowly out of the hospital.

The drive home was quiet, but in a nice way. Hands held together between them – Alex looking ahead at the road, Izzie looking at Alex.

As he helped her out of the passenger seat, Alex brought it up, "how did O'Mal – _George_ take it?" He looked at her meaningfully, wondering what crazy thoughts were running through her mind at that moment.

Izzie shrugged slightly, looking at her feet, as she said, "better than I expected. I think he was always thinking about Callie in the back of his mind; subconsciously anyway. Hopefully he realises that and they can be happy again. Together." She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand softly; letting him know that she knew that she'd made the right choice.

"Once inside and changed, Alex tucked Izzie into bed and kissed her goodnight; first on her forehead, then on her lips.

Despite being tired, she kissed him back.

Turning her light off, Alex whispered "I love you," before shutting her door quietly. He would give her some space.

Lying in his bed, Alex looked up at his ceiling, smiling, grateful; thinking of Izzie asleep in the next room. Rolling over to face his window, Alex closed his eyes and tried to let sleep take him.

He didn't even hear the door open.

And then she was there, climbing into his bed next to him. She wrapping her arms around him, entwining their fingers together, and rested her head in the crook at the back of his neck.

Comfortable at last.

Leaning closer, Izzie kissed the back of Alex's neck and whispered, "stop giving me space. I love you," before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**There you go guys – hope you liked it. It wasn't in my original plan, but I put in a bit of Callie/George 'cause I didn't want George to end up alone. Pretty please review 'cause it's the last chapter. Thanks **

**Em xXxXxxxx**


End file.
